Bickerton, Cheshire

Bickerton is a village and civil parish in the Crewe and Nantwich district of Cheshire, England, about eight miles north of Whitchurch in Shropshire. The parish also includes the small settlement of Gallantry Bank, with a total population of over 200. [http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/bickerton.html Genuki: Bickerton] (accessed 21 February 2008)] The two Bickerton Hills also lie partly within the civil parish.

Geography

The two Bickerton Hills fall partly within the civil parish. Raw Head (gbmappingsmall|SJ508548; 227 metres), a Marilyn, lies north of the A534, while the southerly hill (212 m) lies south of the road, immediately northwest of Bickerton village. [http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/cheshirecc.interactivemapping.web.internet/Default.aspx?e=350993&n=353354&mpp=10&layers=BOU.PLA.PLO.PAR&hLayer=PAR&hField=OBJECTID&hValue=62 Cheshire County Council: Interactive Mapping: Bickerton CP] (accessed 28 May 2008)] The area around Raw Head and much of the southerly hill are designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest. [ [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/Special/sssi/unitlist.cfm?sssi_id=1003503 Natural England: Sites of Special Scientific Interest: Raw Head] (accessed 28 May 2008)] [ [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/Special/sssi/sssi_details.cfm?sssi_id=1002397 Natural England: Sites of Special Scientific Interest: Bickerton Hill] (accessed 28 May 2008)] A wider area covering much of the north and west of the civil parish is also designated an Area of Special County Value. [ [http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/cheshirecc.interactivemapping.web.internet/Default.aspx?e=350988&n=353594&mpp=5&layers=BOU.PLA.PLO.PAR.ASCV&hLayer=&hField=&hValue= Cheshire County Council: Interactive Mapping: Areas of Special County Value: Beeston/Peckforton/Bolesworth/Bickerton Hills] (accessed 28 May 2008)] Around 300 acres of the southerly hill are managed by the National Trust. ["Bickerton Hill", National Trust sign, Bickerton Hill carpark]

Demography

According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 234, in 90 households. [ [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=792559&c=bickerton&d=16&e=15&g=428282&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1203561922276&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 Neighbourhood Statistics: Bickerton CP] (accessed 26 May 2008)] The population has fallen since the nineteenth century; the historical population figures were 270 (1801), 398 (1851), 323 (1901) and 256 (1951).

Places of worship

The Church of the Holy Trinity in Bickerton village dates from 1839, and became a parish church in 1869. Built of red sandstone, with Edmund Sharpe as the architect, it is listed at grade II. [ [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=56842 Images of England: Church of the Holy Trinity] (accessed 21 February 2008)] A war memorial stands in the adjacent graveyard, overlooking the crossroads of Goldford Lane and Long Lane. [ [http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.53320/fromUkniwmSearch/1 United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials: Men of Bickerton WW1 and WW2] (accessed 13 March 2008)]

Other landmarks

A disused copper mine chimney in red sandstone is located near Gallantry Bank, adjacent to the A534. Dating from the early 19th century, it is a rare remnant of the copper mining industry in this area. The copper mine was owned by the Egerton family of Oulton, and is thought to have been operational in 1697. [ [http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=56843 Images of England: Sandstone chimney to former Copper Mine] (accessed 21 February 2008)]

The Bickerton Poacher public house stands on the A534 by the junction with Stone House Lane.

Transport

The A534 runs east–west through the parish. Other major through routes include Long Lane running south from the A534 towards Malpas, and a lane running southeast from Long Lane to Cholmondeley which connects with the A49. The Sandstone Trail runs east from the summit of the southerly Bickerton Hill, crosses the A534, runs northwest to the summit of Raw Head and then turns south east to climb Bulkeley Hill.

Education

Bickerton Holy Trinity CE Primary School stands on Long Lane. [ [http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/SchoolsSearch/Details.aspx?DfES=3142 Cheshire County Council: Bickerton Holy Trinity CE Primary School] (accessed 21 February 2008)] It serves Bickerton as well as the nearby civil parishes of Bulkeley, Cholmondeley, Chorley, Egerton, Ridley and part of Duckington. [ [http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/cheshirecc.interactivemapping.web.internet/Default.aspx?e=353980&n=353065&mpp=25&layers=BOU.PLA.PLO.PAR.PSCA&hLayer=PSCA&hField=OBJECTID&hValue=596 Cheshire County Council: Interactive Mapping: Bickerton Holy Trinity CE Primary School] (accessed 25 May 2008)]

Bickerton civil parish falls within the catchment area of Bishop Heber High School in Malpas. [ [http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/cheshirecc.interactivemapping.web.internet/Default.aspx?e=351180&n=353295&mpp=10&layers=BOU.PLA.PLO.PAR.SSCA&hLayer=SSCA&hField=OBJECTID&hValue=96 Cheshire County Council: Interactive Mapping: Bishop Heber High School] (accessed 25 May 2008)]

References